Two-for-One Exercises

The two keys to increasing the intensity of your strength training routine are minimizing rest time and combining exercises.

By minimizing rest time, you'll keep your heart rate elevated for longer periods of time--hopefully for the entire workout--which will allow you to burn more calories. You'll effectively turn your weight lifting session into a cardio session.

Consider this: A 130-pound woman will burn about 88 calories during a regular 30-minute weight lifting session. Increase the intensity to a vigorous session, and she'll up her calories burned to about 177. Double! Gentlemen, you get the same bang for your buck. A 180-pound man will burn about 122 calories during a normal session, and 245 during a vigorous session.

To move your workout up a notch, move quickly from exercise to exercise without resting. Rather than performing several sets in a row of the same exercise, make a circuit, performing one set of each exercise before going back to the first exercise. Muscles can recover while you're doing your next exercise, rather than while you stand around watching TV!

Remember: Move quickly between the exercises, not during the exercises. Perform sets with slow, controlled movements. Carry your water bottle with you so that you can grab a sip as you move to the next exercise.